10 Mar 2022 | Chevy Blazer EV On Sale Next Year

Episode 1400,   Mar 10, 2022, 05:00 PM

On the podcast today:
• 2024 Chevy Blazer EV Will Have an SS Performance Variant
• General Motors Partnering With California Utility Provider PG&E For V2H Pilot
• Tesla deploys emergency software update 2022.4.5.12 to calibrate LFP batteries
• Tesla confirms deliveries of German-built Model Ys are starting on March 22
• Brandenburg to make water extraction allowances for Gigafactory
• Tesla Model 3 Production Allocation to Europe From Giga Shanghai Is Sold Out for 2022
• Porsche and Mercedes-Benz Halt Production Lines
• Electric vehicle bosses propose two different charging solutions
• Most Volkswagen Plug-In Hybrids Can't Be Ordered Anymore
• Rental car giants embark on electric after pandemic bonanza

Show #1400

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily, you trusted source of information. It’s Thursday 10th March, it’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

2024 CHEVY BLAZER EV WILL HAVE AN SS PERFORMANCE VARIANT

- Chevrolet's Blazer crossover is going electric for the 2024 model year with the launch of the Blazer EV and a teaser video released today indicates a performance-oriented SS trim will be part of the lineup

- The Blazer follows an onslaught of other electric vehicle announcements from General Motors, including the GMC Hummer EV and Chevy Silverado EV pickup trucks, all of which use the company's Ultium battery technology.

- Earlier this year, Chevrolet revealed the first images of the Equinox EV, an electric SUV sharing the name of the company’s popular compact crossover.

- Chevy says that the Blazer will be the company’s first EV to gain a performance SS badge when it debuts later this year.

- The Blazer SS will go on sale in spring of 2023


CHEVY TEASES ITS FIRST PERFORMANCE ELECTRIC VEHICLE, THE 2024 BLAZER EV SS

- The automaker revealed little about the Blazer at CES, though, preferring instead to share details about the Equinox. Set to go on sale with an MSRP of around $30,000, the compact Equinox SUV will be a bargain by EV standards. Despite that, big screens and fancy technology will still be present, suggesting that Chevrolet is taking its transition to electric vehicles seriously.


GENERAL MOTORS PARTNERING WITH CALIFORNIA UTILITY PROVIDER PG&E FOR V2H PILOT

- General Motors announced a new partnership with California utility provider Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) that will allow GM customers to use their electric vehicles as backup power sources for their homes.

- As part of the pilot, PG&E and GM will test vehicles with bidirectional charging technology that can help safely power the essential needs of a properly equipped home. Bidirectional charging capabilities offer a higher level of electric resiliency and less reliability on the grid, especially during peak times.

- The pilot includes the use of bidirectional hardware that's paired with software-defined communications protocols that will enable power to flow from a charged EV battery into a customer's home. The software will automatically coordinate between the EV, home and PG&E's electric supply from the street.

- The pilot will test bidirectional power technology with multiple GM EVs.

- Last month, Ford announced a partnership with San Francisco-based Sunrun, a provider of residential solar panels and home batteries that allows Ford F-150 Lightning owners to use their truck's substantial battery reserves as a home's emergency power source.

- To use Ford's Intelligent Backup Power, customers will need to install the Ford Charge Station Pro and Home Integration System, which includes a power inverter plus a dark start battery and transfer switch, enabling two-way power flow between the home and vehicle.


TESLA DEPLOYS EMERGENCY SOFTWARE UPDATE 2022.4.5.12 TO CALIBRATE LFP BATTERIES

- Tesla appears to be taking a more serious step to fix the issue of the new 12V Li-Ion batteries failing in Model 3s equipped with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

- An emergency software update was deployed today, 2022.4.5.12, which can be downloaded and installed over the vehicle’s LTE connection

- Tesla says the range indicator in the vehicle is being calibrated, without providing further details on how exactly that is being accomplished.

- Last week we reported how LFP batteries in recently delivered Model 3s that had not been charged to 100% were over or underestimating the vehicle’s range. This caused the computer to think the car still had 10% of range left when in reality the main battery was already at 0%.

- When the main battery died, the 12V Li-Ion battery was also dying


TESLA CONFIRMS DELIVERIES OF GERMAN-BUILT MODEL YS ARE STARTING ON MARCH 22

- Tesla has confirmed that deliveries of Model Y vehicles built at Gigafactory Berlin in Germany are starting on March 22.

- Last week, after months of delays, Tesla finally received its official building permit following the environmental approval of its Gigafactory Berlin project.

- However, the approval was conditional on about 400 different conditions that the automaker needed to confirm. Surprisingly, German officials said at the time that they expected Tesla to fulfill all those conditions within the next two weeks.

- March 22 will mark an important step for Tesla by starting deliveries of European-made vehicles and putting it on a path of better logistical efficiency.


BRANDENBURG TO MAKE WATER EXTRACTION ALLOWANCES FOR GIGAFACTORY 

- After the permit for water extraction, which was found to be illegal and also affects the Tesla factory, Brandenburg wants to tolerate partial extraction. This would allow the public water supply to be maintained, the Ministry of the Environment told the DPA.

- On Friday evening, the Administrative Court of Frankfurt (Oder) had declared the water permit issued in 2020 “unlawful and unenforceable”.

- In a first reaction, the Straußberg-Erkner Water Association (WSE) had demanded that the state tolerate the water pumping until the procedure was made up for.

- However, the 1.4 million cubic metres of water actually contractually guaranteed by the WSE for Tesla would only be needed when the carmaker in Grünheide has actually reached its full capacity of 500,000 cars per year. When that will be the case is still unclear.


TESLA MODEL 3 PRODUCTION ALLOCATION TO EUROPE FROM GIGA SHANGHAI IS SOLD OUT FOR 2022

- Tesla can’t produce the Model 3 and Model Y fast enough to meet the huge demand. The situation is worst in Europe, where the customers rely on Giga Shanghai production allocation. In the case of Model 3 RWD and LR AWD, the estimated delivery time to Germany has jumped to February 2023. This is just shy of a full year away.

- This is true for the customers in Germany, France, and United Kingdom. The waiting time is significantly longer than what people in the North American market are facing. For American customers, the same vehicles are promised to be delivered in May 2022, while the Canadians have to wait until August 2022.


PORSCHE AND MERCEDES-BENZ HALT PRODUCTION LINES

- Both Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, among other automakers, are once more faced with parts and component shortages. This time, the Ukraine war is cited as the root cause for production pauses.

- The two premium German brands are joining BMW, Mini, and Volkswagen, all of which have been forced to idle plants across Europe. At the moment, March 18th is the project date for a return to normal activities however that could change at any moment.

- One of the main missing parts of wiring harnesses which were made in Ukraine. Part production was halted once Russia invaded the country according to Automotive News Europe.

- Mercedes-Benz has halted S-Class and EQS production at its Sindelfingen plant near Stuttgart. Benz’s neighbours, Porsche, deferred Taycan output at its Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen factory.

- Porsche specified that about 200 Taycans will not be built. Over at Mercedes, no such detail has been disclosed.


ELECTRIC VEHICLE BOSSES PROPOSE TWO DIFFERENT CHARGING SOLUTIONS

MOST VOLKSWAGEN PLUG-IN HYBRIDS CAN'T BE ORDERED ANYMORE

RENTAL CAR GIANTS EMBARK ON ELECTRIC AFTER PANDEMIC BONANZA

Original Source : https://www.reuters.com/technology/rental-car-giants-embark-electric-after-pandemic-bonanza-2022-03-09/

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